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Chris Hackney

@drchrishackney.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.7K following 70 posts

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at Newcastle University. Vice chair of the British Society for Geomorphology. Researching sand mining, river morophodynamics, microplastics and deltas ⛏️🏞️

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Reposted by Chris Hackney
BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Abstract submission here - deadline 17th July - forms.office.com/pages/respon...
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
🌟2026 BSG Annual Conference is now open for abstracts!🌟 Join us in Lincoln between 1st and 4th September 📆 Find out more about conference preparations (including. the Cuchlaine King symposium on biogeomorphology🍃🦫) here www.geomorphology.org.uk/annual-confe... ⬇️ for the abstract submission...
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Seb Pitman @coastalscoop.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
A challenge for students on the @ncl-geography.bsky.social Netherlands fieldtrip today with ~1m storm surge completely inundating de Slufter field site - great resilience reconsidering what was possible, and retargeting some of their project work. Fantastic to show this dynamic environment in flood!
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Springer @springer.springernature.com · 16/01/2026
This study from 'Biological Invasions' shows invasive non-native plants indirectly destabilise riverbanks by suppressing native vegetation, increasing bare ground, and reducing winter shear strength by around 30%. bit.ly/4qJilB3 @zarahpattison.bsky.social @drchrishackney.bsky.social #bioinvasions
Biological Invasions
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
🚨 4 days left to enter 🚨 submit your photos and drawings of geomorphological features by midnight on Friday tagging us and the tag #BSGAC25 to win up to £100 🥇 last years winners and runners up for inspiration ⬇️
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James Hardwick @jahardwick.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
My third PhD chapter has just been published, we assessed the impact of Himalayan balsam invasion on riverbank stability. A massive thanks to @zarahpattison.bsky.social @drchrishackney.bsky.social @dralanlaw.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Invasive non-native plants indirectly destabilise riverbanks - Biological Invasions
Invasive Non-Native Plant species (INNPs) establishment along rivers continues to accelerate globally, with potential consequences for riverbank stability, ecosystem functions and services. Riverbank ...
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
Newcastle University @newcastleuni.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
A study co-led by our experts highlights how sand mining is endangering the normal functioning of the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, potentially affecting 23 million people. Read more here. ⬇ bit.ly/47V2Eza #WeAreNCL
View of the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia with several boats, including a floating restaurant, amidst a calm water setting.
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
Newcastle University Geography @ncl-geography.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Important work here from @drchrishackney.bsky.social and colleagues -
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
The Junior Deputy Chair (JDC) assists the Chair and Senior Deputy Chair with the day to day running of the society. The JDC is an elected one-year role, with the incumbent assuming the role of Senior Deputy Chair in the subsequent year, and then the role of Chair in the year after.
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Outreach Vice Chair is responsible for coordinating the Outreach Committee’s activities, including promoting geomorphology to the public and encouraging the teaching of geomorphology at schools, colleges, universities, and to the wider public. The position is held for a three-year term.
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
⏰ We are still looking to fill the positions of Junior Deputy Chair and Outreach Vice Chair on our Executive Committee starting in September. Please get in touch if you are interested in applying! Brief descriptions for the roles can be found below ⬇️
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
China rare earths: The BBC visits the world's mining capital for the metals - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
bbc.co.uk
China rare earths: The BBC visits the world's mining capital for the metals - BBC News
The price of the rare earth metals the world buys from China
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
📢June Issue of Area📢 This latest issue pulls together the fully #OpenAccess 'Rivers as Borders' Special Section alongside papers on topics including de-development, AI, and diary methods. Read all the papers here: rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14754762... #geosky
A graphic showing the title page of Area on a black background with a large 'A' on the right hand page. On the left hand page are seven tiles with the names of papers in a Special Section titled 'Rivers as Borders'. The papers are: 
1) Rivers as borders? Navigating in-between the tensions of water-state-society geographies
Rebekka Kanesu,  Vanessa Lamb,  Eva McGrath
2) Median line: A century of border violence and the alluvial geopolitics of the Evros/Meriç/Maritsa River border
Ifor Duncan,  Stefanos Levidis
3) Slow violence on the Yarmouk River: Encounters from the river-border environments
Muna Dajani
4) Migrating sands: Refocusing transboundary flows from water to sediment
C. R. Hackney
5) Crossing riverborderscapes and a view from in-between: Passenger ferries in South West England
Eva McGrath,  Richard Yarwood,  Nichola Harmer
6) Liquid lines: Exploring the Moselle River between France, Luxembourg and Germany
Rebekka Kanesu
7) Caring for the river-border: Struggles and opportunities along the Salween River-border
Vanessa LambA graphic showing the title page of Area on a black background with a large 'A' on the right hand page. On the left hand page are eight tiles with the names of papers in the issue. The papers are: 
1) On undevelopment and de-development: A geographical critique on perpetual growth and resource-based accumulation
Gertjan Wijburg
2) Place, institutional spatiality, and the localisation of financial calculative practices
Leqian Yu
3) Claim-making in hydrosocial spaces: The temporality of displacement around Kenya's Masinga Dam reservoir
Arne Rieber,  Benson Nyaga
4) Deliberative approaches to the climate crisis: Adapting Climathons for rural communities
Philippa Simmonds,  Damian Maye,  Julie Ingram,  Abigail Gardner,  Sofia Raseta
5) Ethnographic fingerprints: Examining co-participation, positionality, and interpersonal relationships in diary method
Julius Baker
6) A whole island approach to scoping renewable energy sites and yields
Ben Watt,  Robert L. Wilby
7) Past, present, future: The RGS-IBG political geography research group within British political geography
Daniel Hammett
8) Visualising an undergraduate geography field class using generative AI: Intent, expectations and surprises about the racial depiction of students
Terence Day,  James Esson
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
We also announce this year's photo competition winners: congratulations @thapasara.bsky.social, Stephen Tooth. @drchrishackney.bsky.social 🥇🥈🥉
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Dr Flo Halstead @flohalstead.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Based on work in Vietnam, we explore how place-based, intergenerational storytelling can drive real momentum and sustain engagement. @parsnipsparsons.bsky.social @bedforms.bsky.social @drchrishackney.bsky.social @lisa-jones7.bsky.social, Thu Vo, Hue Le, Anh Nguyen, Alison Lloyd Williams
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
🚨New paper alert 🚨 Ever wondered how sand extraction may be altering the bed of sandy rivers? How these changes influence flow and sediment transport? Well wonder no more! agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Test match special back on whilst marking - must be summer!
media.tenor.com
a man in a white shirt and tie is standing on a cricket field with his arms in the air .
ALT: a man in a white shirt and tie is standing on a cricket field with his arms in the air .
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
New Special Section in Area! 'Rivers as Borders', edited by Rebekka Kanesu, @drvanessalamb.bsky.social & Eva McGrath, features 6 #OpenAccess papers on river-borders from the Yarmouk and Salween to the Moselle and Torridge. Read all papers here ⬇️ rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1... #geo
Black tile with a quotation taken from the introduction to this Special Section on 'Rivers as Borders' by Kanesu, Lamb & McGrath (2025): "As dynamic, multidimensional moving environments, rivers are not suitable for rigidly defining and delimiting geographical space"Seven tiles on a black background listing the papers in this Special Section:
1) Rivers as borders? Navigating in-between the tensions of water-state-society geographies
Rebekka Kanesu, Vanessa Lamb & Eva McGrath
2) Median line: A century of border violence and the alluvial geopolitics of the Evros/Meric/Maritsa River border
Ifor Duncan & Stefanos Levidis
3) Slow violence on the Yarmouk River: Encounters form the river-border environments
Muna Dajani
4) Migrating sands: Refocusing transboundary flows from water to sediment
C.R. Hackney
5) Crossing riverborderscapes and a view from in-between: Passenger ferries in South West England
Eva McGrath, Richard Yarwood & Nichola Harmer
6) Liquid lines: Exploring the Moselle River between France, Luxembourg and Germany
Rebekka Kanesu
7) Caring for the river-border: Struggles and opportunities along the Salween River-border
Vanessa Lamb
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Booming factory growth in Vietnam is requiring more sand to be imported from its neighbours www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
bloomberg.com
Vietnam Is Running Out of Sand to Fuel an Economic Boom
A new crop of factories requires roads, and that means sand. To keep up, the country is importing from Cambodia on a massive scale
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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
As the world constructs ever more buildings, we're destabilising rivers, lakes, deltas & loughs to gather the sand we need for all that concrete. What harm are we causing? How can we reduce that harm? Can we use alternative materials in concrete or reduce the amount of concrete we use?
Men mining sand by hand. This back breaking work, often undertaken by the world's poorest people, supplies the right consistency of sand needed to make concrete. Desert sand, for instance, is too smooth to be useful for building. Sand can be pounded into the right shape but that's an expensive process. So, instead, river beds, sea beds, estuaries, lake beds, are being dug for sand - harming wildlife, creating deeper water bodies more susceptible to algal blooms, & causing the erosion of banks, with the loss of people's homes & some of the world's finest farmland. This erosion encourages salt water ingress - making well water undrinkable.
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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
'She mines sand at the Mwamphanzi River, even though she knows this makes the flooding worse. "We don't have any other choice. Like today, I left early in the morning leaving children without even porridge"'. The women mining sand to make our concrete: www.context.news/socioeconomi...
context.news
Malawi's women sand miners trapped in climate change dilemma | Context by TRF
More women in Malawi turn to sand mining after drought, floods hit incomes but the practice makes land less resilient to disaster
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Seb Pitman @coastalscoop.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
A beautiful morning setting up for today’s Young Coastal Scientists’ & Engineers’ Conference here at @newcastleuni.bsky.social Dove Marine Lab! We’re delighted to welcome 30 early career researchers and practitioners to our little corner of paradise!! @hassfacultyncl.bsky.social @sagencl.bsky.social
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Reposted by Chris Hackney
Josh Wolstenholme @joshwolstenholme.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Interested in the role of sediment transport processes on increasing #flooding? Our new preprint that systematically explores the role of #rainfall on amplifying flood hazard is out! doi.org/10.21203/rs.... @floodskinner.games @drchrishackney.bsky.social Matt Perks & @bedforms.bsky.social
doi.org
Flood hazard amplification by intra-event sediment transport
Rivers are dynamic, with channel size and shape adapting to fluctuations in water and sediment supplied from their upstream catchments. These changes directly affect flood conveyance capacity, yet sed...
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Teams information shown on the advert & on our website www.geomorphology.org.uk/2025/02/19/i... @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social @rgs-ibgschools.bsky.social @rgsibg.bsky.social @hywelgriffiths.bsky.social @aockelford.bsky.social @sgrieve.bsky.social @drchrishackney.bsky.social @geomorphicjosh.bsky.social
geomorphology.org.uk
International Geomorphology Week: BSG Seminars - British Society of Geomorphology
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Next week we are hosting two talks to celebrate International Geomorphology week. Dr Lynda Yorke will discuss inclusive fieldwork in the geosciences on Wednesday. On Friday, Gwyn Nelson from the Wales Coastal Monitoring Centre will present a national approach to communicating coastal change.
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
And so...after 13 years on short term contracts in academia, I can finally enjoy an open ended contract. Time to change the email signatures and social media handles #academia #science @newcastleuni.bsky.social
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
And so...after 13 years on short term contracts in academia, I can finally enjoy an open ended contract. Time to change the email signatures and social media handles #academia #science @newcastleuni.bsky.social
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Congratulations to @jahardwick.bsky.social on his first #PhD paper out today 🎉🥂 James has reviewed the impact of non-native plant species on river bank erosion rates 🏞️🪻🌳🪴🌍 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Role of Non‐Native Plant Species in Modulating Riverbank Erosion: A Systematic Review
Riverbank erosion is a naturally occurring process that influences riparian zone habitats. However, anthropogenic activities are increasing rates of riverbank erosion. Climate change and hydrological...
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
First day of our joint IISER Bhopal - @newcastleuni.bsky.social workshop on geospatial techniques for monitoring sand mining. Looking forward to welcoming students and practitioners for the week #earthscience #remotesensing #rivers #india #sandmining
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BSG Geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
📸BSG ART COMPETITION 2024🎨 🚨FIVE days🚨 Scroll through your field photos or get out your paint brush #geomorphology Prizes: £100 🥇 £50 🥈🥉 Deadline: 10th Jan T&Cs: geomorphology.org.uk/2024/11/26/n... Make sure you tag us, #BSGAC24 and add a caption!
Photo showing a braided river with mountains in the background
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
This was a fun, if scary (as a single author piece) at times, experience. Thank @drvanessalamb.bsky.social and the rest of the special issue editors for pushing beyond by comfort zone to think about this from a more human geography perspective
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
New #microplastics paper alert. Led by the awesome Dr Freija Mendrik, from her PhD work, we show that 86 % of microplastics are transported below the water surface. For representative samples, sample at 0.5-0.6 of the depth www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Polluted rivers, uprooted farmland and lost taxes: Ghana counts cost of illegal gold mining boom www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
I made a starter pack of those voices speaking to all things geomorph/glacio/geo/earth sci. Follow them if it's of interest. Will update as the site grows #earthsci #geomorphology #physgeog #science #glaciology go.bsky.app/ME4GNao
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DrZP @zarahpattison.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
PhD opp: Interested in the combined impact of sand extraction and invasive species?!! Check this out: Invasions and extractions in Lough Neagh and their role in water quality deterioration with @drchrishackney.bsky.social! #invasivespecies #freshwater #PhD iapetus2.ac.uk/studentships...
iapetus2.ac.uk
Invasions and extractions in Lough Neagh and their role in water quality deterioration
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
I made a starter pack of those voices speaking to all things geomorph/glacio/geo/earth sci. Follow them if it's of interest. Will update as the site grows #earthsci #geomorphology #physgeog #science #glaciology go.bsky.app/ME4GNao
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
For all those interested in #geomorphology @bsg-geomorph.bsky.social has joined Bluesky! Give them a follow to keep up with everything we're doing, webinars, grants and new exciting science 🌍⛰️🏞️
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
We could cross this yesterday evening!! It was ankle deep. Shows what a couple of hour's rain can do on a saturated ephemeral river!
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 12/11/2024
Having some fun in community workshops on sand harvesting and water availability in Kenya. Quite a difference from the #rivers I'm used too
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 30/09/2024
Most, if not all high grade quartz used to make silicon chips comes from Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The whole area has been devistaed by Hurricane Helene. Potential here for significant impacts to global high tech production and industry!! www.wired.com/story/book-e...
wired.com
The Ultra-Pure, Super-Secret Sand That Makes Your Phone Possible
The processor that makes your laptop or cell phone work was fabricated using quartz from this obscure Appalachian backwater.
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 24/09/2024
Thinking of building a small (2.5 m x 2.5m) delta basin for teaching delta growth, morphology and strat (plus maybe some research). Any one got any tips or recommendations for good kit (hoppers, sensors etc.)?
media.tenor.com
stan marsh from south park is asking if anyone has any ideas
ALT: stan marsh from south park is asking if anyone has any ideas
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 13/09/2024
Beach sand being mined and sold for profit in Cornwall #sandmining #dredging www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09...
telegraph.co.uk
Sand on picturesque Cornwall beach being ‘mined and sold for profit’
Residents claim Hayle Beach is being exploited by local council and launch petition to stop ‘day and night’ removal
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 13/08/2024
Back out on the Mekong. This time with the #MRC training their national teams in the use of ADCPs and sediment sampling techniques #rivers #mekong #cambodia
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 14/06/2024
This was a new experience...a first single author article. I argue for a recentering of transboundary river basin frameworks to put #sediment on equal balance to #water, with the example of the #Mekong #earthscience 🌎⛏️🌊🏞️ rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library
Many transboundary river systems focus heavily on flows of water, with less consideration for flows of sediment. Here, it is argued that the two distinct natural cycles of water and sediment necessit...
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 06/04/2024
First day on Texel for #NewcastleUni Phys Geog field course and there's a beach renourishment program using 1.3 MT of sand going on #sand #geography #beachmanagement
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 28/03/2024
Perfecting some #microplastics separation protocols for upcoming student field courses #FieldLabs #STEM #teaching
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 16/02/2024
Cracking views from the top of Whernside and Ingleborough today. Never wetter!
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 08/02/2024
Opened BlueSky and my feed was full of cat and dog pictures, so...here's Ginny dreaming of being Tom Daley diving off the 10 m board
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
Northern lights lit up the flight home from #AGU23 last week. Amazing display for about an hour of the flight over northern Canada
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Chris Hackney @drchrishackney.bsky.social · 09/12/2023
How many poster tubes am I going to see this morning at Heathrow en route to #AGU23?
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